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“-No,no dude there’s no way I can tell her.
-Of course you can, c’mon! Plus your nephew and dad are also there, this might be your only chance to hit three birds with one stone!”
Josuke swallowed a thick load of saliva, and never had he felt his throat so dry. Except the day he asked Okuyasu out, maybe. But today… Today definitely was different. Today would be heavier,a lot heavier. Of course he had practice already,so many times. He knew how to put most words and he had already faced a few reactions, all quite positive. Koichi was very supportive and immediately went along with it. Yukako and Rohan sort of just...hummed and brushed it off. Josuke didn’t mind that, thought. These two definitely creeped him out. Okuyasu had the best reaction, out of anyone.
“Oh really? That’s cool bro! Actually you know, I think I might be bisexual, is that okay with you?” and that was the day Josuke realized he was in love. But today…
Today definitely was different.
It took him time. Lots and lots of time to prepare himself. To make sure he was ready, to practice. Thank god Okuyasu was there with him. He was the most comforting boyfriend in the world, really. He kept on repeating he was already doing amazing just in rehearsal, that it’d be okay, everyone would understand him. Everyone would still love him the same, but even so Josuke couldn’t help but feel his guts twist and knot inside him, making him want to puke with how stressed he was. After long, very long hours, he decided that he was ready. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time, he made sure he looked good -despite Okuyasu’s affirmations that he ALWAYS looked good- and then, squeezing his boyfriend's hand as tight as he could,he went down into the living room.
Thank god when they arrived, nobody left, thought there was this unspoken tension, so thick it made Josuke’s breathing even less regular, and he tried to calm down as Okuyasu squeezed his hand in an attempt to soothe him. Tomoko was silent, and so was Jotaro. Mr.Joestar -his dad, god that sounded weird- was shuffling awkwardly in his seat. Even as senile as he was, the tension made him uncomfortable. Josuke hummed, to attract attention over him, and Tomoko looked at him like she couldn’t be more thankful.
“-You came to see us,dear?”
“-Well, actually…”
Josuke started sweating. This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. This was incredibly stupid. Josuke would’ve left the room by now, had it not been for Okuyasu holding his hand tightly.
“-I’m gay. Or at least I think I’m gay.”
Confusion spread on Tomoko’s face, and less obviously, on Jotaro’s one. Mr.Joestar just widened his eyes, staying quiet.
“-What do you…” Tomoko started,and then she blinked a bit, trying to understand. “Aren’t you dating Okuyasu ?”
Josuke looked at Okuyasu,nervous as could be, and Oku just nudged at him with a small, encouraging grin. He knew very well Josuke could do it. He was the strongest person he knew, actually.
“-Well, that’s the thing… I don’t think I ever was a girl in the first place…”
A long, awkward silence filled the room, and Josuke had to fight every cell in his body to not run to his room. The quiet was heavy, too heavy, and it made the young boy want to throw up. It was too much for him. It was too much.
“-So...What you’re saying is you’re transgender, right?”
Jotaro’s deep voice broke the silence and Josuke looked up to him with bright eyes. How’d he… How was he… Right now, all Josuke could do was nod, incredulous after such a simple phrase. It all went so easily… Tomoko stood up and Okuyasu stepped aside so she could hug her son,voice a little shaky as she kept repeating how proud she felt and how glad she was that he found the confidence to tell her.
“-So what shall we call you now?”
Jotaro asked, with a very,very small smile across his face.
“-Well I… I don’t mind it when people call me Jojo,and I actually like it! So I decided to keep a name starting with Jo and I came up with Josuke!”
“-Josuke… that sounds good.”
Everyone turned to looked at Joseph,who had just spoken. Quietly, he stood with his cane, and walked towards Josuke.
“-Back when I was your age, or just a little older, I was in love with someone, you know…”
Josuke almost rolled his eyes. He didn’t need his old man ranting about some lady he used to love, but Jotaro put his hand on Mr.Joestar’s shoulder, and somehow that calmed Josuke immediately. If Jotaro acted like that, surely the memory must be a little heavy, and although Josuke didn’t like Mr.Joestar that much, never would he dare show such disrespect to an elder sharing a memory. Tomoko was tense, too, but listening.
“- He was the one I liked the most on earth… I forgot his face, or how he sounded. I forgot his height and probably most things about him… All I remember is that I loved him far more than anyone on earth, and that he was like you. And that he liked bubbles,too.”
Josuke swallowed difficult again, but not for the same reason. Joseph seemed like a different person, talking about that man. It made tears blow behind everyone's eyes, except Jotaro. He knew about Caesar. He remembered when sometimes, in the middle of the cold egyptian nights, Joseph would tell him how Kakyoin reminded him of his Caesar, and how many times he asked Jotaro to make sure he didn’t end up like his dearest friend. He remembered how Joseph was the one person who could understand him after the redhead was killed, because long ago the same thing happened to him.
They talked for a few more hours,and then Okuyasu and Josuke went back into Jojo’s room. They laughed and hugged and kissed with such an overwhelming joy, that they all took the news so well and they were so happy. Okuyasu didn’t have many people to come out to. Surely Stray Cat didn’t care a bit, and his father… Well he did come out to his father but whether he accepted or not was pretty much impossible to tell. As for his brother,well… He would've accepted him, Okuyasu liked to think. And usually, Josuke comforted him on that thought. And so they ended up falling asleep, one tightly wrapped into the other’s arms, and Josuke could not feel happier, and as he was drifting into sleep, he felt like everything was fine at the very end of this 1999’s summer.